Vaqueros Look To Regroup After Ohlone Series

By Jimmy Friery

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 20 Santa Barbara City College Baseball team (2-3) had a tough time against No. 10 Ohlone this week, dropping all three in the series at Pershing Park.

Thursday, game one: Ohlone 8, Santa Barbara 3

The first two innings of game one were unfortunately a bad omen for the Vaqueros. A three-run homer in the first followed by two more runs in the second made it 5-0 Ohlone early.

Nicolas Aguirre's RBI groundout in the fifth got Santa Barbara on the board, but the visitors responded immediately with a run in the next half-inning. Ohlone scored twice again in the eighth to make it 8-1. Santa Barbara plated two consolation runs in the bottom of the ninth to bring the scoreline to the 8-3 final.

Aguirre, Wylan Nelson, and Elias Athanas all reached base twice. Cooper Tinkey pitched three scoreless innings in relief, striking out two.

Friday, game two: Ohlone 18, Santa Barbara 3

The Vaqueros looked to rebound in Friday's matchup. William Matuszak provided the spark with a leadoff homer, and Athanas and Nelson—who was also pitching—added on with RBI singles in the second to make it 3-0 Vaqueros.

After a two-out rally scored Ohlone's first run in the top of the third, the visitors flipped the game in the fourth. They turned first and second with two outs into a five-run inning, scoring their runs on two based-loaded walks, two passed ball/wild pitches, and a based-loaded hit-by-pitch.

Two more runs followed in the fifth before Ohlone blew it open in the sixth. An eight-run inning made it 16-3, and two final runs in the seventh finally ended the scoring.

Nelson went 3-for-4 at the plate, the only Vaquero with more than one hit. Matuszak's leadoff homer was the only extra base hit in a forgettable game for the hosts.

Saturday, game three: Ohlone 10, Santa Barbara 4

After stranding the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first, Ohlone would not make the same mistake in the second. A three-run homer broke the scoreless tie, followed by an RBI single. Two more scored on a sac fly and RBI double in the third, and it was quickly 6-0 in favor of the visitors.

Ohlone tacked on three more in the fifth, but the Lucas Carlisle got a run back for the Vaqueros. Brendon Cekada hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to bring the final scoreline to 10-4.

Matuszak was the bright spot for Santa Barbara—the only Vaquero to walk, which he did twice, he was also the only Vaquero with multiple hits. By that math, he reached base four times, crucial for any hitter but especially a leadoff hitter.

The Vaqueros look to regroup and bounce back as they travel to San Joaquin Delta for another three-game series beginning next Thursday in Stockton.